One Step Forward Two Steps Back
by av96
Summary: Kronos is not dead and Gaea is rising. This story takes place after The Last Olympian. Kronos has recruited Percy Jackson to his side as the general of his army to fight against Gaea and eventually the gods as well. Why did Percy join Kronos? What is the price that he has to pay for his actions? Who will emerge victorious in this three way war and will the world survive?
1. Chapter 1

PROLUGE

"Are you ready to order-sir?"

"Not yet Hon I am waiting for someone."

Mike Randall's gaze followed the waitress as she moved onto the next table and the one after that. He had had a long day and he was exhausted. He did not know if he had any patience left-to wait any longer.

The person he was supposed to meet had told his friend that they had a job to offer to him. It was only the constant persistence of his friend Eddie that had convinced Mike to attend the meeting.

"You never know when the next person you meet might change your life"

That is what Eddie had said to him. He had somehow convinced himself that this job will make things better for him. Mike on the other hand was not so optimistic.

Mike began to wonder if Eddie was just sick of him crashing on his couch and wanted him out of the house. After all who would want their friend-whom they had not spoken to for 5 years show up suddenly, and ask if he could stay over?

But Mike had no choice. Fate had not been very kind to him of late.

He had had a good start in life. He knew that. He had been born into a family who were rich and cared for him. His childhood was protected and he could have had anything he wanted. He grew up as a normal teenager and had not truly come face to face with any hardship of any kind.

But harsh reality came knocking when he had gotten into a bar fight on his 18th birthday against some men who had thought that they could harass his girl and get away with it. Maybe they were too weak or he was just that good at fighting, but in the end they ended up in the hospital. 3 of them were critical and one had been discharged.

The judge offered him two choices- either join the army or spend time in jail.

That is how his life as a marine had begun. A month later Mike received a letter stating that his parents had been killed-by the guys that he had fought with at the bar. They had been caught and were currently facing 20 years.

This letter had been the breaking point in Mike's life. He decided that he would do everything in his power to rise above everyone else. This was his way of revenge against life.

"You put me in this position, now watch me as I take my circumstances and turn it around for the better."

This is what he said to life that had brought him this fate and spent the next 2 years working as hard as he could think of. Every aspect of his life had been towards improving himself and correcting his weaknesses until he had virtually none. His superiors were not blind to his efforts. He quickly rose in ranks and his name was already making its presence known in the higher ups of the army.

Everything was going well until that one night that changed his life forever.

Their camp was attacked and in the process many were killed. His superiors decided to make him the scapegoat and he was blamed for everything. They said that he had shown irresponsibility and that was unacceptable for a marine.

He was soon kicked out.

Now Mike had always thought himself to be a reasonable man. But he felt as if there was some conspiracy against him. Maybe fate had decided that it had to put him down every time.

That is how he ended up on his friend's porch hoping that he would let him stay over and he had been searching for a job ever since.

"I hope you were not waiting or me too long mister"

Mike looked up and though he was very irritated by this guy's punctuality, keeping the prospect of a job in mind, he forced himself to stay calm.

"Not at all sir. Please make yourself comfortable. Would you like to order?"

The man opposite Mike seemed to contemplate this and agreed that it would be best to order something.

"But before I do so Mike-" the way the stranger said Mike's name made him uncomfortable, "- I have 2 questions for you."

Mike asked him what they were.

The man did not reply immediately. He waited for some time - analyzing Mike. After what seemed to Mike, an eternity, the man leaned forward and said "Do you believe in the gods Mike?"

Any normal human being would have by now decided that they had completely wasted their time. Mike decided to get up and leave, but something about the way the man had asked the question made him hesitate.

"What is your second question?" asked Mike

The stranger opposite Mike looked slightly taken aback by his reaction which brought about a small smirk to Mike's face.

Again the stranger did not reply immediately. This time, Mike could sense the tension in the air begin to build up. It felt to him as if the temperature of the room could have possibly dropped by 10 degrees.

The stranger finally asked his second question- "Have you heard of the goddess Gaea?"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**THIS IS JUST THE PROLOUGE. I THOUGHT THAT I WILL TRY TO START MY FANFIC IN A DIFFERENT MANNER. THE CHARACTER WHO WAS INTRODUCED IN THE PROLOUGE IS BEING RECUITED BY GAEA'S MEN. HE WILL PLAY A ROLE LATER ON IN THE STORY.**

**I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR ALL OF YOUR OPINIONS SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SAY ANYTHING. I AM TRYING TO IMPROVE AS I KNOW THAT MY ENGLIGH IS NOT VERY GOOD. ALL FORMS OF CRITISISM ARE WELCOME AS THEY HELP ME IMPROVE.**

**(Also is it okay for me to write my AN in caps if not please tell me. I just thought that if it was in caps then people would find it more difficult to ignore it).**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

PART ONE

One year later

If there was anything that he hated more than everything else then that was waiting for someone.

He had already waited a long time to take revenge against his children, just waiting for the right time and the right opportunity to strike against them. Now that his plans did not get to its fruition, he was more impatient than ever.

It had taken him almost an entire year to reform his consciousness and apparently a lot had happened in a year. He had no choice but to act fast and seize this opportunity before it was too late. This time he would succeed, he was certain. The gods had lost their most important piece. They were foolish to not realize its true strength and potential.

But before he set out to do the one thing that he had wanted to do for the past week, he was waiting for someone. He had to confirm his suspicions.

"My lord"

Kronos turned around.

"Good. You are here. Well... Is it true?"

"Yes my lord. I have come to confirm that all of what you had told me is true. The person you are looking for is locked up in Tartarus. But my lord, I do not know where."

Kronos knew the time had come. Now was the time to act. "You may leave now-" he said "I have work to do."

"Yes my lord"

Kronos watched in satisfaction as his servant retreated. He knew he had chosen well.

As the dark shape of his servant slipped into the shadows, Kronos fastened his armor and slid his scythe over his back. He turned around to look at himself in the mirror. The person looking back at him was a boy in his late teens, maybe 17. Dark hair slid back to his shoulders. He was tall, maybe 6 feet and muscular enough to look quite intimidating.

The demigod that he had chosen to take over had gladly given up his body to him. But Kronos knew that this was not permanent. The body was already rejecting him. It was only a matter of time before he had to find a new vessel. One powerful enough to sustain his life force.

He knew just the right Demigod for that.

Once he was ready, Kronos turned to leave.

This was going to be fun.

He had not set out to complete a task in so long. He stretched his fingers and muscles and once he was ready, he walked into the shadows and disappeared in them.

PART TWO

The prison guard could sense that there was something wrong tonight. This would have made no sense to his partner, who would have laughed at him had he voiced out his opinions loudly - because nothing was ever right in Tartarus.

But despite the usual feeling of dread that one would expect to feel when standing near the darkest most dangerous place in the world, there was something about today that felt especially cold and dangerous to him-even more so than usual.

Granted, in all fairness, they weren't exactly in Tartarus. Not exactly in the dangerous place where monsters returned after being killed, that one would imagine. They were right near the entrance where a few of the more dangerous prisoners were being held but that was enough to make any "decent person" feel dread.

Yes, a few dangerous prisoners, one….. more so than anybody else.

This prisoner's cell was special of sorts.

It only had a single door, which unfortunately not lead to the outside world but right to Tartarus. He could freely walk out of this door and into Tartarus if he wished but of course there was no way that he could walk out of this door and come into the mortal world.

Though it was a rumor, many prison guards such as himself believed that Hades himself had designed the cell with a door that not only led the prisoner to Tartarus but which could be used by monsters to come and find him.

And find him they did.

In the first few weeks that he was locked up, monsters came in through the door all the time looking for some demigod flesh. However, those poor unfortunate souls did not know just exactly what this demigod was capable of.

Needless to say they returned back to Tartarus not through the door that they came in, but the more painful way. They caught on pretty soon though, not to come looking for the demigod.

Now, most normal demigods would be happy with this right?

But no, not this one. If the monsters did not come looking for him, he would leave through the door looking for them.

He would leave early as soon as he woke up and would only return at what may be thought of as night in this place without days or nights. This was pretty much when the prison guards decided to stay away from this insane prisoner.

He was too dangerous they presumed.

A monster that would fit right in with all the others in Tartarus.

"Hey do think perhaps, that there is a strange atmosphere tonight? I feel quite queasy." said his partner.

The prison guard felt even worse now. If his partner who was usually so dense could sense that something was wrong, then they were definitely in some deep trouble.

The prison guard was just about to reply when he saw something move in the shadows.

He pulled put his sword and called out to the shadows - "Come out whoever you are, I can see that you are there."

The guards were in a room surrounded by walls on all sides. Each wall led to pathways that would split into different directions each leading to a prison cell.

Only the guards on duty could simply walk through the walls, if they wished to see any of prisoners and only the guards on duty that particular night knew the exact path to take to reach the underworld.

They usually sat in darkness as naturally they were more comfortable that way.

They recognized the presence of the intruder the moment he appeared.

The intruder did not seem to be bothered by the fact that he had been spotted. In fact, the way he casually walked towards them told the guards that not only did the intruder know that he would be spotted, it seemed to the guards that that was exactly what the intruder seemed to desire.

Though the guards did not recognize his face, his golden eyes betrayed his identity.

"Well gentlemen it is a pleasure to meet you. I hardly think introductions are necessary." Said the titan lord as he pulled a scythe off his back.

"There is a certain prisoner that I am looking for and it would be of great help to me gentlemen if anyone of you would be so kind as to point me in the right direction" he said with a voice that reminded the guards of the scrapping of knifes on a rock.

As he approached the guards, they felt the temperature drop in pace with the footsteps of the titan lord. Their bodies were responding slowly as if the very presence of the titan lord seemed to slow down time in his vicinity.

The titan lord stopped in front of the prison guards.

They were unable to move, though they did not know if that was due to Kronos or due to fear (personally Kronos did not seem to think that the two were different anyway).

The titan lord then spoke with such malice that it crumbled any remote resolve that the two prison guards could possibly have had.

He did not say anything immediately.

He patiently looked at both the guards, analyzing them, sizing them up and then he finally said with a "crooked" grin

"I will have the answer to my queries and I am ready to do so….. by any means necessary."

PART THREE

Prisoner number 7.

That name had been his identity ever since his arrival to this place, and now, it seemed to him that this identity had become more than just that. It was a part of him now and the prisoner knew better than anybody else that though identities fade over time, you have to live with how it changes you for the rest of your life.

He sat cross legged on the floor meditating.

He could sense the presence of the titan lord and knew that he was near.

A presence which brought with him all the memories of the past that he always tried to suppress to the best of his ability.

"Percy Jackson" said the titan lord, announcing his arrival.

The prisoner's face twitched with irritation for a second.

"That was a name that was mine long back Kronos. But we both know that I have not been called that name for a year and probably will never be called that ever again."

Kronos smiled at him and said "yes I heard. But you are talking under the assumption that you will never leave this prison ever again as per the terms of your confinement, however... I believe that today is the day that you regain that identity and join my side."

The titan lord would be lying if he had said that the prisoner's reaction to these words did not bother him.

But patiently wait he did while the prisoner continued to laugh in his high coarse voice.

"Is that the reason why you have come here? Oh here I was hoping that you had come to finish me off once and for all to mark the return of the titan lord."

"You are on a fool's errand if you think that I would ever join your side Kronos. Granted I have no love for the gods as I did in the past but I have no reason to go against them. In fact I have no reason to do anything other than rot in this prison for the rest of my life. I thought this would be fairly obvious to you, or are you unaware of what transpired this year?"

"Percy -" said Kronos with a smile, "can you honestly say that you do not hold any hatred towards those beings who betrayed you? If that is your decision, of course I'll respect it but I have another offer for you Percy, would you be kind enough to hear me out?"

"There is nothing that YOU can offer me Kronos that will convince me to do your bidding, but looking at your confidence I'm curious as to what you have to say" said Percy

Kronos sighed, he had wasted enough time already. It was time to be serious. "Percy, I can give you the one thing that you want the most. I can show you the path to finding the people responsible for the death of Annabeth Chase."

Hearing this, Percy Jackson froze visibly. He did not say or do anything for the next five minutes.

Kronos waited patiently since he knew better than to disturb him. He carefully took note of the expressions that flitted across Percy's face. What he observed seemed to please him. He knew that Percy was now as good as his.

"What do you want in return?" asked Percy for he knew who Kronos was.

Kronos turned around to leave. He looked back and said "what I want Percy is a new host. The one I'm possessing right now is only temporary. He will not last long and when the time comes I expect you to hand over your body to me to possess. A demigod of your caliber can sustain me for quite some time before I gain my true appearance. I'm sure you already know by now, by the amount of time that you spend in Tartarus that Gaea is rising. I need YOU to lead my army as my general against Gaea and her forces and hand over yourself to me to possess when the time comes."

He then turned and walked away through the walls.

The fates who had seen the entire conversation knew that this marked the beginning of a new era. They knew that by the time that this war would end the world would have changed forever. For better or for worse... this, they could not predict by themselves. All they could say for certain was that the future of the world was once again in the hands of the son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson.

**AN:**

**Hey reader. I hope that you are enjoying this story. As always i am looking forward to reviews so that i can be aware of how you feel about my story and also understand how to improve. I wrote this chapter in parts as i thought that would be a better idea than line breakers. If you have any queries or sugesstions then please tell me. I am always eager to know about such things. Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I hope you contiue to do so. **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The day Annabeth disappeared

It was a very pleasant evening, or so Annabeth felt as she looked out of her window from her cabin. She decided to go for a walk around camp and maybe even meet Chiron. She had been unable to speak to him all day due to her busy schedule.

After being provided with the position of "The Architect of Olympus", Annabeth found out that she did not have to start for a few weeks. So she decided to stay at camp and help in any way she could.

Unfortunately, after the war with the titans, they were a little short-handed. This meant that Annabeth being the most experienced camper, had to do all sorts of things from teaching archery to Greek mythology. This was why her schedule was packed and Annabeth barely had the time to breathe throughout the day.

On top of this, Seaweed brain had decided to choose this very week to spend at home. So she had to take up a few of his responsibilities as well.

Its funny how just thinking about him made her feel excited. He was her boyfriend now. They had not been dating for a very long time, but she had been his friend since he was 12 and they were very comfortable with each other. She missed having him by her side. She knew that she would be less stressed had he been here with her. Percy had this knack for making people feel calm.

Annabeth got up, left her cabin and headed towards the big house.

She would have made it all the way through and would have had a nice conversation with Chiron and the lives of the Demigods would have been as normal as it gets for them had it not been for the scream that she heard.

High and coarse. She immediately began to run in the direction of the source as she feared a monster attack. As she ran, she began to realize that the voice was coming from outside the camp borders. She ran even faster now, since there was a possibility of a monster attacking a new comer to the camp, right before he or she entered the camp border. It had been known to happen before to a few other Demigods like herself and seaweed brain. In that case, it would be her duty in the absence of Percy, to ensure the safety of camp as well as its new arrivals.

The brilliant mind of Annabeth Chase had first prompted her with the possibility of a trap long before it was too late. But Annabeth had no choice but to make sure since lives may be at stake.

When she did arrive at the source of the screaming though, she did not see a monster nor did she see a young Demigod. Instead she saw a teenager in armor standing casually as if he was waiting for someone. The weapon that the teenager held made Annabeth wonder where she had seen it before.

As soon as the he saw Annabeth, he attacked without so much as an introduction. Annabeth drew her knife and held her ground waiting for him. He was good. His strikes were accurate and strong. He was careful of his surroundings. But after a while, Annabeth began to notice a pattern in the way he fought. She began to note down in her mind how he reacted to her movements and as soon as she saw an opportunity, she disarmed him and held her knife to his throat. He held up his arms in surrender.

"Who are you and why are you attacking me?" asked Annabeth

When the boy did not reply, she decided to take him to Chiron. However Chiron never got to meet the boy. This was because Annabeth was surrounded by three more people and by the time she realized that these people had snuck up on her, it was too late.

So she knocked out her captive with the blunt side of her knife and turned around to face her attackers. She did not last very long against them though, as her weapons were of no use. They just seemed to pass through them. They were mortals.

Annabeth Chase knew when she could not win a fight. She decided to do the smart thing and ran at the first opportunity with as much strength as her legs could provide her. Luckily for her, she was able to lose them in the forest near the camp border. Their intellect was after all no match to the daughter of Athena.

She barely had the time to hide, calm down and begin to think of a plan to alert the camp, when she first saw him.

She could not recognize who it was but this being sent out an aura that made it clear that he was no ordinary human. He seemed too powerful to even be a god.

'What is happening? First it was a Demigod, then mortals and now an immortal being. What did they want with me? thought Annabeth.

This being walked slowly toward her hiding spot and stopped a few feet away as if he was waiting for someone. After a while when nothing happened, he made a gesture in her direction asking her to come out. So she did.

"Why are you doing this? Who are you? asked Annabeth.

The being in front of her replied in a voice that was impossible for even Annabeth to describe.

"Why do you Demigods and we immortals do anything Annabeth Chase? As always it is because of a prophecy. This terrible prophecy that involves you is the reason why you are being attacked. It is also the reason why I have come for you." he said as he snapped his fingers and Annabeth dropped to the ground.

One week later

Sally Jackson had been through a lot of hardships in her life. But she knew that the pain that she was experiencing now could not be compared to anything that she had experienced in the past. All of her life she had learnt the hard way about how to face problems and deal with the challenges that life throws at everyone once in a while. But she could not bear to see her son experience the pain of the loss of a loved one. She had lost her parents when she was five and her uncle when she was in her senior year. She knew that pain and now… Annabeth was gone.

She still remembered Percy's expression when he had been given the bad news from Hades himself.

Ever since then Percy had locked himself up in his room and had barely come out. He never spoke with anyone and had completely isolated himself. She did everything she could to support him but there was not much for her to do. Percy had to face his feelings and had to learn to accept what had happened.

She felt horrible at how helpless she was in this situation.

What Sally Jackson did not know however, was that everything was about to change with the arrival of a guest. The goddess of wisdom Athena.

Goddess Athena had initially considered visiting Sally before she met with Percy. She was curious to see the woman who had stolen Poseidon's heart. But she had more important things to do.

Percy Jackson did not seem the least bit surprised when "her" mother first appeared nor was he insulted for the invasion of his privacy. He continued to sit on his bed brooding, lost in deep thoughts. He acknowledged the presence of the visitor with a simple nod.

"I have come to ask a favor Percy." She said observing him. He looked devastated. His shoulders were hunched and his eyes held an ocean of sadness in them.

"I know that you are angry Percy, at the people responsible to what happened to my daughter. The other gods and goddess do not know that I am here. I am sure they would stop me if they knew, but I have a quest for you Percy." She said.

She stood there for a few seconds anticipating his reply which then came in the form of another nod.

She knew that though Percy pretended to not care, on the inside he was desperate to do something, to distract himself, to get revenge.

Goddess Athena had just the right quest for him. "Your quest Percy-" she said "is to track down the people who attacked my daughter and…. Kill them."

**AN:**

**As always please feel free to tell me how you are finding this story and in what ways I could improve. I am always looking forward to suggestions and opinions of any kind. **

**Special thanks to all those readers who took the time to review.**

**I would also like to thank all the others as well for taking the time to read this story.**


End file.
